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The Washington has imposed sanctions on a network of several persons and entities accused of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the measures on this week, the Treasury stated the network was largely composed of Colombian citizens and firms.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a force implicated in horrific war crimes such as targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged last year, following an investigation which revealed that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been contracted to engage in combat – an discovery that led to an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience acquired during years of internal conflict, familiarity with Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching minors, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary previously stated that training children was "horrific and irrational" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier based in the UAE. The US authorities alleged he played a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged ran a firm accused of handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, American entities associated with Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be targeted, with the firm she operated said to have conducted wire transfers linked to Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the Treasury said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

An expert, from a conflict think tank, called the measures as a "very significant" step, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go".

She added that, Colombia recently passed a law approving the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and reshape domestic defense strategy.

A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.